• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Otherwise mediocre players who were aesthetic af

Zinzan

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Almost forgot, Mark Ramprakash at Test level.

Dude was phenomenal at FC level, but garbage in Tests overall. Even out-hicked Graeme Hick in this respect.
 

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
Almost forgot, Mark Ramprakash at Test level.

Dude was phenomenal at FC level, but garbage in Tests overall. Even out-hicked Graeme Hick in this respect.
Yes, he was. The ironic exception was that he averaged 42 against the Aussies (from 12 tests) but failed almost universally against everyone else.
 

Zinzan

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Yes, he was. The ironic exception was that he averaged 42 against the Aussies (from 12 tests) but failed almost universally against everyone else.
Correct, famously got up for The Ashes, I remember that strange fact.
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
It speaks volumes for Hooper's underachievement, given the immense talent he had, that his Test average of 36 is actually higher than I thought it was.

And if he had scored just one additional run in any of his 227 50-over internationals, his career Test and ODI run aggregates would be identical.
 

Ali TT

International Vice-Captain
It speaks volumes for Hooper's underachievement, given the immense talent he had, that his Test average of 36 is actually higher than I thought it was.

And if he had scored just one additional run in any of his 227 50-over internationals, his career Test and ODI run aggregates would be identical.
The guy averaged about 53 and 31 in first class cricket. Not quite Hick or Ramps level underachievement, but he never translated his FC dominance to the international sphere.
 

Migara

International Coach
The guy averaged about 53 and 31 in first class cricket. Not quite Hick or Ramps level underachievement, but he never translated his FC dominance to the international sphere.
Much similar to our understanding of Aravinda de Silva. Aravinda however later matured and played some ridiculously good knocks in tight situations. Till about 1984 - 1989, and then 1991 - 1995 he was very much Hooper like.
 

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
Much similar to our understanding of Aravinda de Silva. Aravinda however later matured and played some ridiculously good knocks in tight situations. Till about 1984 - 1989, and then 1991 - 1995 he was very much Hooper like.
I think the issue for him would have been that in his first few years of test cricket, he didn't really have the team around him to bat bit and bat long, It was only in the early 90s that Sri Lanka improved. I remember they beat England for the first time in 1993 after England got pulverised in India. So he may have been in a situation where he had to hit out before the team got out on a few occasions. Certainly remember he looked a class bat for Kent in around 93/94?
 

OverratedSanity

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I saw so much of Hooper over the years and aside from everything else, I don’t think I ever saw him drop a catch. Not one. Guy was an incredible slipper. He made Mark Waugh look bog average
Yeah and it wasn't just how safe he was, it was unreal how casually he'd take catches. Looked like he was half asleep, never once seemed like he was surprised by the pace of the ball, the ball would just find the middle of his palms like a magnet.
 

Migara

International Coach
I think the issue for him would have been that in his first few years of test cricket, he didn't really have the team around him to bat bit and bat long, It was only in the early 90s that Sri Lanka improved. I remember they beat England for the first time in 1993 after England got pulverised in India. So he may have been in a situation where he had to hit out before the team got out on a few occasions. Certainly remember he looked a class bat for Kent in around 93/94?
He had a major technical weakness against spin. He got it sorted out around 93-94. He was a self taught genius. (You can see the backlift changing from late 80s clips to mid 90s clips). He had the technique to dominate express and extra express bowling with ease, but he tried to do it against spin and got out very easily.
 

Kenneth Viljoen

International Regular
I would regard him more as a bit of an underachiever rather than mediocre. The likes of Ramprakash and Hick definitely qualify, but with a bowling average of 34, that is more ordinary than mediocre. Well for me, anyway.
Only going by some of the examples mentioned..There's not much difference between Wahab Riaz and Jerome Taylor for example
 

Chin Music

State Vice-Captain
Only going by some of the examples mentioned..There's not much difference between Wahab Riaz and Jerome Taylor for example
Fair enough, it is a fairly subjective classification. I remember Wahab from 2010 tour of England. A fairly ordinary fast medium bowler, but fast forward to 2015 and onwards a far more dangerous beast. I remember him rolling over England in UAE and then taking crucial wickets at the Oval the next summer as Pakistan drew that series. He isn't close to being among the best bowlers Pakistan ever produced but overall he was a decent if hardly outstanding bowler in the final reckoning.
 

kyear2

International Coach
I saw so much of Hooper over the years and aside from everything else, I don’t think I ever saw him drop a catch. Not one. Guy was an incredible slipper. He made Mark Waugh look bog average
Hooper, Richardson, Ponting, Kallis, Waugh. May be missing someone but think those are the 5 best I've ever seen.
Guys like Simpson, Sobers, Chappell equally amazing I'm sure, but just saw those guys on older film .
 

Top